Proofpoint Explained

Proofpoint, Inc.
Type:Private
Traded As:NASDAQ:
Founder:Eric Hahn
Key People:Sumit Dhawan (CEO)
Marcel DePaolis (CTO)
Rémi Thomas (CFO)
Industry:Security software
Products:Identity threat defense
Email filtering
Email privacy
Email encryption
Email archiving
Anti-spam techniques
Electronic discovery
Data loss prevention software
Revenue: (2020)[1]
Assets: US$2.498 billion (2020)
Equity: US$441.744 million (2020)
Owner:Thoma Bravo
Num Employees:3,658 (2020)
Location City:Sunnyvale, California
Location Country:U.S.
Locations:Offices worldwide: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States (California, Colorado, Indiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia)[2]

Proofpoint, Inc. is an American enterprise cybersecurity company based in Sunnyvale, California that provides software as a service and products for email security, identity threat defense, data loss prevention, electronic discovery, and email archiving.

In 2021, Proofpoint was acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo for $12.3 billion.[3]

History

The company was founded in July 2002 by Eric Hahn, formerly the CTO of Netscape Communications. It launched July 21, 2003, after raising a $7 million Series A funding round, an additional $9 million in Series B funding led by New York-based RRE Ventures was announced in October, 2003.[4]

The company released the Proofpoint Protection Server (PPS) for medium and large businesses.

Proofpoint became a publicly traded company in April 2012. At the time of its initial public offering (IPO), the company's shares traded at $13 apiece; investors purchased more than 6.3 million shares through the IPO, raising more than $80 million.[5]

On April 26, 2021, Proofpoint announced that it had agreed to be acquired by the private equity firm Thoma Bravo.[6]

In May 2025, Proofpoint announced its acquisition of Hornetsecurity, including its French subsidiary Vale, forming what the company described as the world’s leading email-security group.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Proofpoint, Inc. 2020 Annual Report . December 31, 2020. Proofpoint.com. August 31, 2021.
  2. Web site: Office Locations. August 30, 2016. Proofpoint.
  3. August 31, 2021 . Thoma Bravo Completes Acquisition of Proofpoint. GlobeNewswire.
  4. http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2003/10/13/daily16.html Proofpoint adds funding, San Jose Business Journal, Oct 14, 2003
  5. Web site: Proofpoint and Infoblox Rise on Debuts . The New York Times . April 20, 2012 . July 14, 2012.
  6. Web site: Proofpoint Agreed To Be Acquired By Thoma Bravo. April 26, 2021.
  7. Web site: Proofpoint acquires Hornetsecurity, which had acquired Vade, in conflict with Proofpoint . Solutions Numériques . 15 May 2025 . 10 December 2025 . French.